Couch to 5K to Couch ~ OUCH!

You may be wondering why I haven’t posted anything lately about my 5K Training. Well, I’ll tell you …

After my last run of week 2 training (last Saturday morning), there was a little tightness in my calf and my ankle felt a little stiff, so I stretched a lot and went on with my day. But overall I felt great! I was invigorated and ready to start week 3 following a 1 day rest, as the program recommends.

However, later that evening I couldn’t walk. My ankle was swollen and throbbing in pain. I don’t even know what I did. I iced it, I took Motrin and rested it all day Sunday, hoping that I would be able to get back on track by Monday.

I woke up Monday morning and it was still a little sore, so I decided to take one more day off from running to make sure it healed. No such luck, after a long day at work it hurt worse, and by Tuesday I could barely put any pressure on it without a lot of pain. So I decided to call my doctor.

He said I was doing everything right, and just keep doing what I was doing: icing it, taking the Motrin and keeping it elevated as much as possible. Well, I have a job, so unfortunately I can’t just stay home and pamper my ankle, so I continued to hubble on it all week, and it continued to hurt and swell.

my new friend

Since this last weekend was a three-day holiday from work, I decided to cancel my plans, and just stay off my leg as much as possible. I watched a lot of movies. I kept ice on it (well, as I could handle), and kept it elevated… popping Motrin like M&Ms.

By Monday it started to feel a little better and today I am not limping at all. I still hurts a bit (more as the day goes on), but I’m hopeful that I will be hitting the trail one day this week.

Side note: After talking with a few of my runner friends, it sounds like I need to purchase a new pair of running shoes, as my 5-year-old cross trainers probably aren’t giving enough support.